blogs united

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My blogging has slowed since I've spent more and more time the last two weeks doing organizing for Blogs United. That work organizing, however, has paid off.

Blogs United currently has 130 members on DFA-link and 90 participants in the Google Group email ring. (Up from 43 and zero, respectively two weekends ago.) There are currently 27 states represented and growing. If you are a local or regional blogger interested in participating...email me at kidoaklandactivism"at"comcast"dot"net.

I started Blogs United at DFA-link last winter on the recommendation of Matt Lockshin. Matt has one of the sharpest analyses of the usefulness of locally-focused blogging of anyone I know. He's also one persuasive guy when he puts his mind to it. Witness the fact that he got me to start Blogs United! (How did that work?)

Something Matt and I have had innumberable converstations about is the power of locally-focused blogging. I recognize, however, that even this term confuses some people, "What's a local blog?" "How can the internet be local?" "What's useful about a blog?" (versus what's merely interesting.) "Why shouldn't we all just write on big national blogs?"

These are all interesting theoretical questions. For some answers, I would recommend reading this essential post by keener at NH-02blog called Why I Blog Locally.

Local bloggers are citizen journalists and activists. They are a vital part of the emerging netroots infrastructure. My goal this election season is to show how local blogs are changing the political landscape of the United States. And my goal with Blogs United is to try to provide a forum that is useful to local blogs and bloggers themselves.

Something is going on here just below the radar. I'm committed to tracking it and helping to explain it.

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